


Late Night Chores

by happydaygirl



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene, Nightmares, Tag to 1.04
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29239821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happydaygirl/pseuds/happydaygirl
Summary: Merlin delivers Arthur his armour one night after the events with the poisoned chalice expecting to be in and out in minutes. What he doesn’t expect is to be at the bedside of the prince as he is plagued by nightmares from his ordeal...
Kudos: 19





	Late Night Chores

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first ever Merlin fic, so if it’s out of character please let me know! I have also only seen five episodes so hopefully my muse lets me write more if you guys like it.

It’s late. Really it’s too late for Merlin to be bothering with finishing cleaning Arthur’s armour ready for his morning training session. He probably could have just got up a little earlier to finishing polishing it in the morning, but he valued his sleep more than finishing his chores, so a late night cleaning session it was.

He opened the door to Arthur’s room as quietly as he could, taking note not to bang the armour against the doorframe as he crept inside. Arthur had explicitly instructed his armour be brought up to his rooms rather than being left in the armoury, something Merlin merely rolled his eyes at but didn’t question. Maybe he liked staring at it before going to sleep, who knew? He certainly didn’t. He also didn’t particularly much care.

He tiptoed to the table and gently placed the goods on top, before looking around the opulently decorated rooms. Velvets and silks and large paintings, it was almost sickening. Merlin scoffed lightly before turning to leave, but he stopped as he heard a small noise coming from the large four poster bed that occupied the far wall.

Plush red curtains draped each side of the bee, so it was a struggle for Merlin to catch hold of the material to reveal the inside- the noise was indeed coming from Arthur, who was curled in his covers, an arm slung across his pillow as he pushed his face into it, half concealing his features from the curious warlock.

He watched for a few minutes, feeling slightly weird as he watched the next in line to the throne of Camelot sleep, but soon enough he saw Arthur’s hand and arm contract as the prince moaned lightly, his face scrunching slightly.

Ah, so a nightmare.

Unsure of what to do, Merlin hovered on the spot, watching on, as Arthur twisted in his covers, eyes scrunched at the uninvited images coursing through his mind.

Should he leave him to it? Merlin thought he should. He was just about to back out and leave his rooms when Arthur began to mumble in his sleep, his voice hitched with fear.

‘Merlin…spiders…dark here….’

Merlin’s heart dropped- he looked on as the other man shuddered and tried to physically move away from whatever was plaguing him; he could see even under the covers the way that he was working his legs as if trying to run.

‘It’s alright…’ he whispered, eyes wide, as he bent over and placed a hand on the Prince’s shoulder, hoping a small presence would soothe him back to peaceful slumber. This turned out to be entirely the wrong thing to do, as Arthur suddenly let out a huge gasp and heaved himself away, his eyes snapping open as he squinted into the night at the shocked Merlin, who also recoiled at the sudden noise in the silent room.

‘Hey, calm down, it’s alright! Arthur!’ Merlin managed to gasp out, his hammering heart almost beating itself right out of his chest as he watched as Arthur continued to stare at him with wide eyes, breathing hard as if he was out of breath.

‘What….what are you doing here?’ He stammered, wiping bleary eyes as he sat up.

‘I-I was delivering your armour-‘

‘No, I mean why are you here, near my bed?’

‘I..I was…’ Merlin racked his brains for an answer- Arthur didn’t seem the kind of man who took the news that someone had watched him in his most vulnerable moments very well at all. ‘…Dusting.’ He finished somewhat lamely, pulling out a strip of cloth from his pocket to illustrate.

Arthur started across at him in the darkness. ‘….Dusting?’ He repeated, nonplussed.

‘Yes! It’s very dusty in here. You should have a good word with whichever servant is in charge of cleaning your chambers…’ Merlin answered, deciding to just give Arthur’s bedside table a little dusting whilst crinkling his nose to drive the point home.

‘Hm I wonder who that would be? Oh yes- it’s you, Merlin.’ Arthur snarked, before collapsing back into his bed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

A few moments passed, and Merlin pondered whether it would be an appropriate time to bring up the dream, but deciding against it as Arthur pulled his blankets under his chin again, clearly wanting to go back to sleep. ‘Well, consider myself firmly chastised. I’ll see myself out.’ He finally muttered with a nod, before backing away, dusting cloth still in hand.

‘Merlin?’ The voice was so quiet he almost missed it on the way to the door.

‘Yes, my lord?’ He called back.

‘…See you in the morning.’

Merlin allowed himself a small smile. ‘Night, sire.’ He replied, before closing the Prince’s door with a snap.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, I’d love to know your thoughts- especially as this is my first ever fic for this fandom!


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